Focus on Faith

I was not alone on the Mount of Olives when I placed my foot in that stony depression where our Gospel takes place today.

In early April, Pope Francis granted a plenary indulgence to all Catholics who participate in the upcoming National Eucharistic Pilgrimage or National Eucharistic Congress.

This column is part of a series on holy orders and the first on the priesthood. It follows eight columns by Father Van Sloun on the ordination and ministry of deacons in the Church.

On March 23, 1999, Chris Chelios — a Chicago native and star defenseman of the Chicago Blackhawks — was traded to the Detroit Red Wings at the age of 37.

The Gospel reading appointed for the Third Sunday of Easter in Cycle B contains the third and fourth narratives about the risen Jesus on Easter Sunday in a series of five recounted in Luke 24: an appearance to Jesus’ disciples gathered in Jerusalem (36-43) and a remembrance of his final instructions to them (44-49).

In the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, once a man is admitted to the diaconate formation program, it is a long and spiritually rich five-year journey to ordination.

Darkness, as we all know, can be quite powerful; amid suffering, it can be hard to see a way out. But as Holy Week shows us, love and hope are far more powerful than the forces of evil.

Q) I know that I make excuses. My family members point that out to me, and my friends (my very close friends) have told me that my excuse-making makes it difficult to trust me. But most times they don’t feel like excuses to me. They seem like the real reasons I’m late or don’t do what I had said I would do. How can I tell the difference between excuses and real reasons?